Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) and Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBDO) Critical Survey

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBDO) and Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Banco Bradesco and Equity Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Bradesco	7.43%	10.17%	0.86%
Equity Bancshares	6.36%	13.53%	1.22%

Dividends

Banco Bradesco pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Banco Bradesco pays out 7.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equity Bancshares pays out 54.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Volatility & Risk

Banco Bradesco has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Banco Bradesco and Equity Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Bradesco	0	0	0	0	0.00
Equity Bancshares	0	2	2	0	2.50

Equity Bancshares has a consensus target price of $44.75, suggesting a potential upside of 4.83%. Given Equity Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Equity Bancshares is more favorable than Banco Bradesco.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Banco Bradesco and Equity Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Bradesco	$101.44 billion	0.19	$2.85 billion	$0.26	6.88
Equity Bancshares	$153.70 million	4.25	$7.82 million	$1.10	38.81

Banco Bradesco has higher revenue and earnings than Equity Bancshares. Banco Bradesco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equity Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Banco Bradesco shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Equity Bancshares beats Banco Bradesco on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banco Bradesco

Banco Bradesco S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, corporates, and businesses in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It provides current, savings, click, and salary accounts; real estate credit, vehicle financing, payroll loans, mortgage loans, microcredit, leasing, and personal and installment credit; overdraft and agribusiness loans; debit and business cards; financial and security services; consortium products; car, personal accident, dental, travel, and life insurance; investment products; pension products; foreign currency exchange services; capitalization bonds; and internet banking services. Banco Bradesco S.A. was founded in 1943 and is headquartered in Osasco, Brazil.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Equity Bank that provides a range of banking, mortgage banking, and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts various demand, savings, money market, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment and aircraft financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products. The company's loan products also comprise 1 4 family residential mortgages, agriculture, consumer, residential real estate mortgage, and agricultural real estate and production loans. It also provides debit and credit cards; insurance brokerage; trust and wealth management; online banking solutions, such as access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; mobile banking solutions comprising remote check deposits with mobile bill pay; ATMs; and treasury management, wire transfer, automated clearing house, and stop payment services. In addition, the company offers cash management deposit products, such as lockbox, remote deposit capture, positive pay, reverse positive pay, account reconciliation services, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts, as well as banking services through telephone, mail, and personal appointments. It operates a network of branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Equity Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas.